Thursday, July 11, 2013

Food Review: Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips

Beyond Meat is a new plant-based protein that is said to look, taste and feel exactly like chicken! This vegan protein was created to perfectly mimic animal protein so going meat-free would be easier than ever. If people switched to Beyond Meat and stopped eating animal protein, think of the environmental benefits (reducing pollution, saving water, saving land, etc.), the health benefits (no cholesterol, more nutrients, etc.) as well as ending the cruelty of factory farms (just Google "chicken factory farming" to get an idea of the horrific lives these poor creatures live in order to end up on people's plates). With all these benefits, who wouldn't want to try Beyond Meat?

Being vegan, of course I couldn't wait to try Beyond Meat! Just think of all the cruelty-free chick'n dishes you could create with something like this! Well, I finally found some Beyond Meat at Whole Foods (they were $5.29 a package) and was very excited to try it! I especially couldn't wait for my omnivore boyfriend, Mister Spooky, to try it and see what he thought.

I bought the grilled variety (there are also lightly seasoned and southwest varieties I need to try!), sauteed them with some onions and bell peppers to make fajitas with them. Mister Spooky and I even had a few uncooked pieces (they are fine to eat straight out of the packaging, so you could even use them in salads or other cold dishes!) because we just couldn't wait!

Both cooked and uncooked they were pretty darn amazing. They have the same texture and bite as chicken animal protein, yet none of the cruelty! Woo hoo! I really liked how they were seasoned, too, and they didn't even need any additional salt, pepper or any other spices. It tasted so good that I didn't even get to take a picture of the dish...we ate it too fast! If you want to see a video of me preparing the dish, just check me out on the Vine app (just search The Spooky Vegan...for some reason it won't let me embed the video here).

My favorite part of trying Beyond Meat was that Mister Spooky (an omnivore) remarked how good it was and that he didn't need to eat chicken anymore since he will be buying Beyond Meat instead! Score!

The only fault I found with the Beyond Meat strips is that they tend to get a bit rubbery once they cool off after cooking. Still, despite this they still tasted amazing! I can't recommend these enough and found them to be the best plant-based chick'n I've ever tried.

Beyond Meat is a revolutionary and delicious plant-based protein that I think will encourage more people to adopt a more sustainable, plant-based diet - and rewards those that already live cruelty-free with delectable flavors and endless options!

I'm not sure that being no cholesterol is a health benefit. It's looking more and more like the real healthiness of food comes from its being minimally processed, and I guess I'd rather eat a piece of real meat from a happy, healthy chicken than a heavily processed, chemically altered plant protein.

1. Our bodies create cholesterol naturally, hence we have no need of "extra" cholesterol from animal protein (cholesterol is not found in plant-based products). The cholesterol from eating animal protein is what causes a variety of health problems like clogged arteries and heart disease.

2. I agree that a minimally processed diet is best (fruits and veggies!), but Beyond Meat actually only has three main ingredients - soy protein isolate, pea protein isolate, and amaranth. It is free of saturated and trans fats, gluten, GMO’s, cholesterol, dairy, antibiotics and hormones. Also, it is much more nutritionally beneficial than chicken as it is a complete protein with 19 grams per 3 oz. serving and has only 100 calories per serving.

3. Your idea of a happy, healthy chicken raised for food is what many people imagine when they eat "organic", "free-range" or "humane" meat, but the reality is that more often than not you are eating a chicken who was raised cruelly in a disgusting factory farm environment (yes, even the ones that are labeled "organic" or "humane" are raised in dark warehouses with no room to spread their wings). Chickens are some of the most cruelly treated animals that are raised for food and it breaks my heart since they are such smart, social animals. The conditions they are raised in are truly atrocious, and if you'd like to educate yourself further just Google "chicken factory farms".

4. A dead carcass is not a "happy, healthy chicken" - with all the healthier and more humane options out there, there really is no reason to continue eating animals.

I love this stuff. Havent had meat in 4 years and I've never really cared about vegan things trying to imitate the "real" meat because my perspective of food has changed over the years of being vegan. I eat white cubes (tofu) with vegetables and fruit salads in the morning. Food comes in all different shapes and sizes and I could care less if it came in a "chicken strip" size/shape or even tasted like the real thing. I've learned to eat freely .. I've learned to eat without murder.. And sometimes when vegan food imitates real meat, it kind of defeats the purpose of it being vegan. There could be many ways of looking at this, like teaching people that vegan food can taste like real meat and could possibly help "convert" people....but anyways, the vegan chicken strips are tasty and good. I don't really know where I was getting at with this comment but yeah.

Personally, I haven't tried these yet but I plan to pick up a package today. The whole "There's no point in eating mock meat if you're vegetarian or vegan" is not valid IMO. I didn't stop eating meat because of the taste. I actually liked the taste of meat. The reason why I stopped eating meat was because of the harsh treatment and/or facilities for meat production. So finding something healthy that tastes like chicken without it actually being chicken is a winner for me.

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